1991 Rolls-Royce Corniche III Convertible Coupe

The Rolls-Royce Corniche was given its name for the Grand Corniche touring road between Nice and Monte Carlo. The name first appeared on the Rolls-Royce in the 1930s and was based on the Bentley Mark V and wore coachwork by Carrosserie Vanvooren. It was a prototype that endured 15,000 miles of testing in Europe before being blown up by a bomb in port awaiting its ship to England.

Rolls-Royce re-introduced the name in 1971 for both Coupe and Convertible form. By the mid-1980s, the Corniche retailed for nearly $150,000, a testament to the cars exclusivity, luxury, power, and status. The engine was a 5.76-liter V8 that was mated to an automatic transmission. The heavy luxury vehicle could race from zero-to-sixty MPH in just about 8 seconds.

The Corniche was given burled wood veneers, fine leather, and a Stayfast top. The majority of the Corniche was produced by hand, with robotics accounting for a small amount of the construction.

The Corniche was produced in four series, the 1986 model year brought about Corniche II with 1989 introducing Corniche III. The Corniche IV followed in 1992. Corniche V was introduced in 2000, after a five-year production hiatus.

This Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible Series III model is one of 452 examples produced and it has covered just 23,000 miles since new. It is finished in Magnolia with tan leather interior and a convertible top.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2016